Biketown, which is operated by Lyft, is pushing farther into East and North Portland. The latest expansion stretches the service area by 9 square miles into East and North Portland neighborhoods that have lacked access to public transportation.
In East Portland, bikes will be added to parts of Hazelwood, Mill Park, Parkrose and Parkrose Heights neighborhoods. The Portland Bureau of Transportation said they have been working to improve transportation in East Portland. Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty joined transportation officials Monday to announce the major expansion of Portland’s bike-share program.
“For too long, our East Portland and North Portland neighborhoods have been lacking the city services and convenient transportation access that the rest of Portland takes for granted,” Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said Monday at a news conference at Knott Park in East Portland. “I’m so glad to see PBOT prioritizing racial equity in expanding access to our bike share system.”
One of the goals of the expansion is to reduce disparity among minority communities in access to public services. The East Portland expansion extends Biketown’s service area into portions or all of Hazelwood, Mill Park, Parkrose and Parkrose Heights. The North Portland expansion adds the University of Portland and downtown St. John’s to the service area, as well as all or large sections of the Arbor Lodge, Cathedral Park area.
